I recently started playing GTAV again and sometimes I’ll get in my car and let the radio stations play while I do house stuff. Favorite stations are the 80s one with Kenny Loggins, and West Coast Classics and Rock Radio.
I’ve been listening to the FTL soundtrack since high school!
Into the Breach’s soundtrack is also outstanding, by the same composer for the same developer.
I used to put this on to drift asleep to. Fantastic soundtrack.
I use it for programming!
- Bastion
- Castlevania (series, special mention for Symphony of the Night)
- Chrono Trigger/Cross
- Dead Cells
- Destiny 1/2
- Dragon’s Dogma (mainly Into Free, but still…)
- Final Fantasy (series, but special mention for XI and XIV)
- Persona 4/5
- Portal 1/2
- River City Girls (probably 2 as well, but still waiting on my LRG copy)
- Scott Pilgrim vs the World (the game (the soundtrack))
- Tony Hawk (series); a bit of a cop out, as they’re all licensed songs
- Zelda (series, special mention for the Cadence of Hyrule soundtrack)
And then just a lot of old nostalgia for NES games (Duck Tales, River City Ransom, TMNT, etc) and SNES/PS1 RPGs (Lufia, Super Mario RPG, Suikoden, Thousand Arms, etc)
But that main list contains the ones I either bought or downloaded because I loved the music so much.
The Chrono Trigger soundtrack is a goddamn masterpiece. I haven’t played it for years and the songs still randomly pop into my head.
Agreed. I never even really played that game. I was a Genesis man back in the 16 bit days, and I’ve found I can’t really play those old JRPGs without the nostalgia factor (and even that’s lost its luster). But even with me not having played it, Chrono Trigger still has one of the best soundtracks ever.
Maaannn, the Tony Hawk games introduced me to so(!) many(!) great songs, bands, and genres of music! I’m so damn thankful for those games and their soundtracks. They definitely had a hand in shaping who I am today.
You can usually find playlists people have put together of the soundtracks for each game (at least the songs that are available on the platform) on YouTube and Spotify. I still listen to them! Naturally, they hold up really well.
There are games with amazing music that sets the perfect atmosphere — Celeste, Hades, Zelda (especially BotW/TotK).
And then there are games soundtracks I would also happily just put on to listen to — FFXIV, Persona 5, one particular song from Hades (Eurydice).
Supergiant has always been great at music and soundtracks. I especially enjoyed the Bastion soundtrack.
Fez
Disasterpeace is amazing. Also did the soundtrack for It Follows.
- Celeste
- Dead Cells
- Hollow Knight
not to be a hater but GTAV Radio station songs are ‘licensed music’ not soundtracks, also you can just fire up spotify or youtube if you just wanna listen to them instead of running GTAV each time
The benefit to the radio stations in game is that you get the silly commercials and commentary too. I like the whole package together. Sometimes I’ll drive around while just listening too, which is fun.
Fair point :D I personally hate it when people talk over music that’s why I avoid radio stations IRL
Yeah, same! I think what makes me okay with the GTA ones is that they play full songs instead of radio edits, and I’m sometimes distracted by the GTA world’s randomness, so I let it slide. Otherwise I hate when DJs talk all over the already-shortened tracks.
Just like the other commenter, the Outer Wilds main motif (travelers) makes me emotional because of how good the game was. Disco Elysium also has had an amazing soundtrack, with the main BGM faintly using sounds from the final song, which made it really cathartic for me.
Ultrakill deserves a lot of praise, especially for the P-2 music (https://youtu.be/MG5L-1pI8bI). It works perfectly for how intense the level is, and it’s absolutely nuts that the game still manages to up the ante after you’ve perfected every single other level. I’ve listened to this type of music quite often before, but I’ve never felt it in my blood and muscles before playing that level.
When judged on the music alone though, Hotline Miami (1) and Furi have to take the cake. Both soundtracks are just iconic, and easily stand out on their own.
You just mentioning the Outer Wilds’ motif gave me goosebumps. That should tell you how well that game uses its music.
My favourite bit of music from that is (iirc) titled '14.3 Billion Years. I’ve listened to it hundreds of times and it still gets me every single time.
Witcher 3 soundtrack. The exploration and combat wouldn’t be the same without it.
Honestly I’m shocked and surprised the Risk of Rain soundtrack hasn’t come up. Both 1 and 2 are bangers. Chris Christodoulou (the lead composer) has a yt breaking down the soundtrack.
Stellaris’ ost is also up there for memorable leitmotifs and just plain understanding the assignment.
I also quite like redout 1 and 2’s soundtrack.
Final Fantasy VII and Chrono Cross are my absolute all time favorites. Ori and the Blind Forest is a more recent soundtrack that blew me away. The soundtrack for the Motorhead racing game is also a classic for me.
Hollow Knight
Civilisation IVs Baba Yetu. Still gives me chills. I’ve seen it performed by a small choir and is just as good. https://youtu.be/IJiHDmyhE1A
The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour remain top-tier for me. The music was half the experience, turn it up and just enjoy that creepy vibe while solving puzzles. And they’re all on The Fat Man’s Bandcamp now!
Also, there’s an industrial rock cover album on vinyl currently looking for funding on Kickstarter. I’m super excited!
My dad and I used to play 7th Guest together. What a classic! It’s been a long time since I played that one. Had it on CD-ROM. Now I need to go find the soundtrack.
The full soundtracks to both games are on the Fat Man’s Bandcamp, which I linked up above. Also, the “greatest hits” collection album 7/11 is on Spotify. It’s surprisingly easy to listen to these days!
Fallout got me, a Metal Head, listening to 50s rock and lounge music.
- Stellaris.
- Rimworld.
- Dwarf Fortress (Steam version).
- Steamworld Dig 2.
- The Talos Principle.
- The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall.
- The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind.
